Television

July 01, 2013

A company that makes it possible for users to stream television programs live online is fighting a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by the major U.S. broadcast networks. In a
counterclaim filed late last week in Washington federal court, FilmOn X LLC argued the networks were violating the public trust by trying to block consumers' ability to watch free over-the-air broadcasts.

The ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC television networks, their local affiliates in the Washington metropolitan area, and several other national broadcasters sued FilmOn in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in late May. The networks accused FilmOn of "exploiting…some of the most valuable intellectual property created in the United States" by distributing their programs without a license.

FilmOn, according to court filings, uses tiny antennae to capture television broadcast signals in local markets and stream the live programming online. In counterclaims filed June 27, FilmOn, represented by attorneys with Baker Marquart in Los Angeles, denied it was infringing the networks' copyrights.

June 28, 2013

"Gideon's Army," a documentary about the struggles facing public defenders in the South, is set to make its national television debut July 1 on HBO. One the lawyers at the heart of the film, Jonathan Rapping, spent the first decade of his legal career as a public defender in Washington and said the experience played a major part in informing the work he does today supporting defenders nationwide.

The film, which screened at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, follows the lives of three young public defenders and features the work of Gideon's Promise, an Atlanta-based organization founded by Rapping that supports public defender offices across the South. In a phone interview today, Rapping said Gideon's Promise was a product of his desire to transfer the successful model of the D.C. public defender office to offices elsewhere in the United States.

Rapping spent 10 years with the public defender office in Washington, first as a staff attorney and later as the training director. He said he took for granted the fact that he was in "an environment where excellent representation of poor people was expected."

June 19, 2013

The media company founded by conservative commentator Glenn Beck has turned to Wiley Rein for help in its first foray into Washington lobbying.

Mercury Radio Arts Inc., which produces The Glenn Beck Program, GlennBeck.com and TheBlaze media network, has hired the firm to advocate for it on program carriage matters, according to a lobbying registration report filed with Congress on Tuesday. The New York-based company didn't have any lobbying firms registered to advocate for it before it retained Wiley Rein, according to congressional records.

Senior public policy adviser Scott Weaver, as well as public policy consultants Peter Krug and John Simpson, are handling the account. Weaver and Simpson also lobby for the National Association of Broadcasters, the leading trade group for radio and television broadcasters.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on Tuesday urged Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. to allow live broadcast of the Supreme Court's opinion announcements in the blockbuster cases due to be issued before the end of June.

“It is not unreasonable for the American people to have an opportunity to hear firsthand the arguments and opinions that will shape their society for years to come," Durbin wrote to Roberts in a letter released Tuesday.

Coming so late in the term, the letter amounts to a Hail Mary pass, especially since the court has stubbornly resisted live broadcast of any of its proceedings since the earliest days of radio. But Durbin's letter is different from other efforts in that it seeks broadcast of the court's opinion announcements, not just its oral arguments.

May 24, 2013

Television broadcasters filed a copyright infringement
lawsuit yesterday against FilmOn.com Inc., a company that allows users to stream live television programs online. The networks are seeking a court injunction, accusing FilmOn of "exploiting…some of the most valuable intellectual property created in the United States."

The lawsuit is the latest stage of litigation playing out in courts on both coasts over the technology employed by FilmOn and another company offering the same service known as Aereo Inc. Aereo and FilmOn previously butted heads in trademark disputes—FilmOn founder Alki David adopted the name Aereokiller for his service—but recently reached a settlement, allowing them to focus on the larger challenges brought by the networks. David agreed to stop using the Aereokiller name, according to sibling publication Am Law Litigation Daily.

The plaintiffs include the ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC television networks, as well as Telemundo, Disney and local affiliates of the big networks that air programming around the Washington region. Jenner & Block partner Paul Smith, co-chair of the firm's media and First Amendment practice, is lead counsel for the Fox plaintiffs. Arnold & Porter intellectual property partner Robert Garrett is lead counsel for the other plaintiffs.

March 22, 2013

Julius Genachowski, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, today announced his plan to resign from the agency he's led since September 2009.

"Over the past four years, we've focused the FCC on broadband, wired and wireless, working to drive economic growth and improve the lives of all Americans," Genachowski said in a statement issued this morning. "And thanks to you, the Commission's employees, we've taken big steps to build a future where broadband is ubiquitous and bandwidth is abundant, where innovation and investment are flourishing."

The FCC said Genachowski plans to leave his post "in the coming weeks." President Barack Obama has not named his pick for a successor. Genachowski did not identify his post-FCC plans.

February 25, 2013

A federal appeals court in Washington today appeared poised to strike down a Federal Communications Commission decision that found the country's largest cable television provider discriminated against the Tennis Channel by restricting its distribution to a sports package.

A lawyer for the commission, Peter Karanjia, faced tough questions from a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, where Comcast Cable Communications LLC is fighting the FCC order. The agency ruling was the first-ever in two decades under a provision of federal communications law that Congress enacted to promote competition and diversity in cable television programming.

Judges on the D.C. Circuit panel expressed concern about whether the Tennis Channel's complaint is time-barred and whether the agency order could expand the power of the government to regulate the speech of other entities. One judge, Brett Kavanaugh, said the FCC "has a serious problem with the First Amendment here."

The appeals court didn't immediately rule in the closely watched case. Bloomberg L.P. filed papers in support of the FCC. On the other side, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association wants the FCC order vacated. A team from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher represents Comcast.

February 22, 2013

For a couple of years, the federal government has remained on the sidelines of a lawsuit in Washington that alleges Lance Armstrong and others made false claims to the U.S. Postal Service in connection with the agency's sponsorship of a professional cycling team.

The U.S. Justice Department announced today, ending months of speculation, that the government is jumping into the suit to back the plaintiff, Floyd Landis, who rode with Armstrong on the professional team the USPS-sponsored between 2002 and 2004. The government alleges Armstrong's use of performance-enhancing substances was a violation of the USPS sponsorship agreement. This amended complaint was filed today.

"Lance Armstrong and his cycling team took more than $30 million from the U.S. Postal Service based on their contractual promise to play fair and abide by the rules—including the rules against doping,” Ronald Machen Jr., the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, said in a statement. “The Postal Service has now seen its sponsorship unfairly associated with what has been described as ‘the most sophisticated, professionalized, and successful doping program that sport has ever seen.’"

Lawyers who represent whistleblower said the case will be closely watched for what will likely be the battlefield of the dispute: Was the USPS harmed?

January 18, 2013

The straight dope: Lance Armstrong came clean last night in an 90-minute interview with Oprah Winfrey, confessing his longtime use of performance enhancing drugs during his professional cycling career. From The New York Timestoday: "For Armstrong, a Confession Without Explanation." The Austin-Statesmanhas this story: "Armstrong admits doping, says he's deeply flawed." The Washington Post has coverage here.

On the rise: From today'sNational Law Journal: "Patent dispute settlements between brand-name and generic drug makers jumped sharply in the past year, the Federal Trade Commission has found in a new study, warning that such deals may be anticompetitive." More coverage here and here.

Subpoenas go out Securities regulators have issued subpoenas to political research firm Marwood Group asking for information about how the outfit "was able to warn its Wall Street clients that regulators might delay approving a promising drug in the fall of 2010," The Wall Street Journal reports. The Journal said emails subpoenaed in the probe "open a rare window into a burgeoning business known as political intelligence."

Keeping her dog: "Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice and her Garden City cooperative, which had clashed over a no-pet rule, have reached a settlement that allows Rice to keep Pearl, a Maltese and Yorkshire terrier mix," The New York Law Journalreports.

January 04, 2013

The Justice Department next week will ask a federal appeals court in Washington to keep secret dozens of images of Osama bin Laden's body taken after he was fatally shot in May 2011 in a special forces raid.

DOJ lawyers, representing the CIA and Defense Department in a public records suit, identified 52 responsive records—post-mortem images that the government describes as "graphic and gruesome"—that are being withheld from the public.

A federal trial judge in Washington ruled for the government in April, saying that "verbal descriptions of the death and burial of Osama bin Laden will have to suffice." The judge, James Boasberg, concluded the government's national security concern over the publication of the images "passes muster."

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on January 10 will take up whether the images are properly being kept from public review. Judges Merrick Garland and Judith Rogers, sitting with Senior Judge Harry Edwards, will hear the case.